Month: July 2024

At Cisco, we believe the growth of our company is inextricably linked to the growth of our people. That’s why we are proud to host Cisco Illuminate, our employee development series that shines a light on continuous learning and development. This company-wide event helps employees uplevel their skills throughout the year to compete in an ever-changing business landscape.

Exciting Speakers on a Range of Subjects 

Cisco Illuminate lets participants tap into engaging sessions led by industry experts and cultural thought leaders from Cisco and beyond. Past events have included speakers like Oprah Winfrey, Andrew Ng, and Michelle Obama, covering topics that support attendees’ personal and professional growth. With sessions on a variety of subjects such as Artificial Intelligence (AI), Cybersecurity, Well-being, and Leadership Development, this event is designed to create a growth mindset and prepare our employees for the future of work. 

Interactive and Engaging Formats 

Learning comes in many forms, and we know everyone learns differently, so Cisco Illuminate features a mix of keynote presentations, panel discussions, and interactive workshops. Attendees can choose to livestream the event from home, gather at a watch party on campus, or peruse the recordings library. By embracing various learning modalities, we empower our employees to thrive. For us, it’s not just a moral necessity but a strategic advantage, helping us shape an inclusive future for all. Employees can continue to expand their skills on their own schedule with access to on-demand platforms like Masterclass, LinkedIn Learning, and Coursera.

Next Illuminate is Approaching

We are gearing up for our next Cisco Illuminate on June 25-26 that will enable Cisconians to enhance their skills in topics like AI, innovation, and well-being. In addition to Cisco and Splunk leaders and experts, employees will hear from James Clear, the New York Times bestselling author of Atomic Habits, on how to boost productivity and foster personal growth.

By fostering an inclusive environment that empowers our team to learn and tackle the world’s greatest challenges, we create a more inclusive future for all. Our employees are the heart and soul of Cisco Illuminate, and their experiences speak volumes. But don’t just take our word for it—read their stories and see the impact firsthand!

“Grateful for Cisco Illuminate – our program dedicated to global employee development. Last quarter’s self-paced learning option promoted inclusivity and flexibility, accommodating the diverse schedules of Cisconians worldwide. This approach supports our commitment to an inclusive workplace by respecting our team’s varied work hours and their customer-centric problem-solving.”

Aurelia Takacs – Program Manager, Strategy and Planning, Belgium

“I loved participating in Cisco Illuminate Your Team! The transformative workshops provided invaluable opportunity to connect with our teams, fostering collaboration, connection, and trust – the very core elements that make teams thrive. We explored how open communication, mutual support, and shared goals drive exceptional business results”

Elena Lewis – Leader, Customer Delivery, North Carolina

“It’s not a surprise to many of my peers that I always look forward to Illuminate – in actuality, I’m sure I cause a couple of headaches talking about Lumi and the amazing team behind the event all year round. As an attendee of the Illuminate events in the past, I have always admired how every session showcases the power of creativity and collaboration.”

Brinda Thangada – Communications Manager, Customer Experience, Chicago

Explore more ways that Cisco supports its employees’ learning and development in our latest FY23 Purpose Report.

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July 3, 2024 /3BL/ – With increasing attention from policymakers and regulators on the responsible supply of minerals, and multiple stakeholders demanding higher transparency, GRI has launched an implementation guide and new translations of the GRI Sector Standard for Mining.

Launched in February, GRI 14: Mining Sector 2024 supports companies involved with mining to produce consistent and comparable reports, contributing to more transparent and accountable mining practices globally. The Standard sheds light on the dual nature of the sector – providing essential minerals and metals that society relies on, while having significant impacts on the environment, communities and workers.

The new GRI 14: Mining Sector 2024 Implementation Guide for Report Preparers helps practitioners to produce effective reports using the GRI 14. Moreover, it includes guidance and examples for determining material topics and reporting disclosures.

This guide helps companies of any size, type or geography operating in the mining sector to streamline reporting and communicate on their most pressing sustainability issues. Using GRI 14 allows organizations from the sector to contribute to more transparent and accountable mining practices globally.

In addition to English, GRI 14 is now also available in other three languages with a further seven translations still to come. As part of GRI’s commitment to make the standards accessible to a diverse global audience, the Mining Standard can now also be downloaded free of charge in French, Japanese and Bahasa Indonesian.

GRI thanks the peer reviewers who contributed to ensure the accuracy of the translations, expanding the global reach of the world’s most widely used sustainability reporting standards.

Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) is the independent, international organization that helps businesses and other organizations take responsibility for their impacts, by providing the global common language to report those impacts. The GRI Standards are the world’s most widely used sustainability reporting standards, which are developed through a multi-stakeholder process and provided as a free public good.

National Grid announced plans to invest an estimated $75 billion* across the company’s service territory in the UK and US over the next five years, with nearly half of the funding dedicated to US energy system improvements in Massachusetts and New York. This significant step up to approximately $35 billion* of investment represents an increase of more than 60% on National Grid’s investment in the region in the last five years. Today’s announcement makes National Grid one of the biggest investors in the energy transition in the Northeast and demonstrates the company’s commitment to help both states achieve their climate goals and deliver economic growth.

Group CEO of National Grid John Pettigrew said: “Today’s announcement is a clear illustration that National Grid is committed to playing our part in achieving the ambitious decarbonization targets that New York and Massachusetts governments have set. The increased investment we’re announcing today follows positive engagement with our regulators in these states, reflecting a willingness to upgrade electricity networks to provide long term affordable energy to all, and reduce emissions across our gas networks.”

According to the US Department of Energy (DOE), lack of transmission infrastructure can directly contribute to higher electric bills, and more frequent and longer power outages. Preliminary findings from DOE’s National Transmission Needs Study also found that developing new transmission in the New York-New England corridor would not only improve reliability, but also support the increasing electric demand in the region. The federal analysis found the region needs a 255% increase in transmission development to support the clean energy growth expected under New York and Massachusetts policies.

As a result of the investment announced today, National Grid will unlock economic growth across New York and Massachusetts. By the end of the decade, National Grid will support 127,000 jobs.

In New York, National Grid is investing around $21 billion* between now and 2029. Among those investments is the Upstate Upgrade which comprises more than 70 transmission enhancement projects across Upstate New York. The portfolio of projects will transform the grid, improve reliability and resilience, and enable National Grid to deliver renewable energy to homes and businesses across the state. This investment will also generate thousands of new jobs and create additional economic growth, all while ensuring the grid is able to meet the growing demand for electricity.

“This landmark investment will transform the energy grid to meet growing energy needs and is a much-needed piece of the puzzle to support the clean energy transition,” said National Grid New York President Rudy Wynter. “The money we are spending to make these upgrades is necessary to deliver renewable energy to homes and businesses across New York.”

In New England, our five-year investment will total roughly $14 billion*. As part of this investment, National Grid will implement innovative solutions, like smart meters, to help consumers manage energy use; build modernized energy infrastructure; construct and upgrade infrastructure to make it less susceptible to extreme weather events; and maintain and improve the quality of our existing gas and transmission assets.

One such proposed project, the Massachusetts Electric Sector Modernization Plan (ESMP) would create a path to upgrade and expand the electric grid, accelerate the connection of renewables to the grid, and introduce new customer programs to encourage energy efficiency, and the adoption of clean energy.

“National Grid is making it clear that we are a committed partner to help Massachusetts meet its climate and clean energy goals” said National Grid New England President Lisa Wieland. “The investment is essential to transform the energy ecosystem, build new and expanded infrastructure, and deliver an electric network that is fundamentally smarter, stronger, cleaner and more equitable than today.”

In addition to the transmission investments, National Grid has proposed a three-year investment plan to modernize the Downstate gas businesses, reducing emissions, and making them more resilient and reliable. This includes a focus on disadvantaged communities and accelerating gas main replacements to reduce emissions, with a target of 45 miles/year of replacements in New York City and 119 miles/year on Long Island. Since 2013 National Grid has replaced 1,500 miles of gas main, lowering system emissions by 102,385 metric tons of CO2e, the equivalent to removing 22,257 cars from the road.

*Based on £1: $1.25 exchange rate

About National Grid

National Grid (NYSE: NGG) is an electricity, natural gas, and clean energy delivery company serving more than 20 million people through our networks in New York and Massachusetts. National Grid is focused on building a smarter, stronger, cleaner energy future — transforming our networks with more reliable and resilient energy solutions to meet state climate goals and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

For more information, please visit our website, follow us on X (formerly Twitter), watch us on YouTube, like us on Facebook and find us on Instagram.

Media Contacts

Mary-Leah Messenger
Massachusetts
(781) 907-3980
Email
Emily Demarest
Massachusetts
(781) 907-3980
Email